Gear operated pancake-type wrench for use in confined spaces



Dec. 29, 1953 F. J. DE NOTE GEAR OPERATED PANCAKE-TYPE WRENCH FOR USE 1NCONFINED SPACES 1951 2 sheets-sheet 1 Original Filed Jan. 6,

origin-1 Filed Jan. e, 1951 Dec. 29, 1953 J DE NQTE 2,664,020

F. GEAR OPERATED PANCAKE-TYPE WRENC FOR USE IN CONFINED SPACES 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INV EN TOR. Flu/wr J. nenn' ATTORNEY.

atented Bec. 29, r1953 GEAR OPERATED vPANCAKE-TYPE WRENCH FOR USE IINGONFINED SPACES Frank J. vDe Note, Forestville, Conn., assigner to TheBristol Tool Machine Company, Inc., lForestville, Conn., acorporation of'Connecticut Original application January 6, 1951, Serial No.

204,773, now Patent No. 2,629,278, dated February 24, 1953. VDivided andthis application January 23 1953'Seral No.332,920

This invention relates to yautomatic wrenches, and is more particularlydirected to improvements in powei` driven socket Wrenches for use intightening or loosening nuts situated in places 'that are eitherinaccessible, or diicult to Vreach with ordinary wrench tools.

One object of this invention is to provide a power driven socket Wrenchhaving an angularly offsset nut-engaging member which is substantiallytree from interfering mechanisms so that it may be used in uniiorinlytightening or loosening nuts or bolts about which there is a minimum ofclearance from surrounding structures.

Another object or this invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed which has Aan ofi-set nuten.gaging member .at v.the :rei/noteend oi an elongated barrel housing so that the wrench may be used tooperate on nuts located in deep, confined recesses, such as areencountered inthe assembly of cylinder' heads in radial aircraftengines.

A further object is to provide a device -of the above nature which willbe simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy tomanipulate, compact, and very efficient and durable in use.

rEhe present application constitutes a division of my prior copendingapplication Serial Number 204,773, filed January G, i951 entitledGear-Operated Pancake-Type Wrench for Use in Confined Spaces, patentedFebruary 24, 1953, Number 2,629,278.

With these and other objects in View there has been illustrated on theaccompanying drawing one form in which the invention may conveniently beembodied in practice.

in the drawings,

1 shows in two parts, the invention as applied to a motor-driven,trigger-actuated power tool, and further illustrates its adaptabilityfor operation on a nut in the closely confined space between twocylinders of a radial aircraft engine,

represented by the dashed lines.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the ofi-set nut-engaging drive mechanism, partlyin section, taken along the bro-sen line 2-2 of Fig. l, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Fig. `f5 is a sectional view of the same, taken along the line 5in-3 ofFig, 1.

Fig. e is a bottom view ci the off-set nut enaging drive mechanism takenalong the line .-1- of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a side View of the hexagonally rounded end of the drive shaft.

Fig. S is an end view ci the same.

Fig. 7 is a side View, partly in section, `of 'the shaft barrel'housing, showing the lower sleeve bearing in `place therein, and furthershowing how rthe end of the barrel is fixed in angular relationship tothe rear .cover of the socket drive mechanism.

Referring now to .the drawings, in which like reference numerals denotecorresponding `parts throughout the several views, the numeral iiiindicates generally a trigger-actuated tool embodying the invention.

The tool .lo includes an yain-driven slip clutch C having a `rotativedrive `member 'il provided with an Ahexagonal central socket to withinwhich is disposed 'the hexagonal end portion t2 of an elongated driveshaft I3. The drive shaft it is rotatably disposed with an elongatedbarrel housing l 4, for Whichpurpose said rbarrel housing has a pair ofsleeve 'bearings l5 and it, one disposed within either `end thereof. TheYbarrelhousing lf3 is held in xedaligned relationship tothe casing ofthe tool It, by a split tubular .housing member ll, tightly securedinplace by means oi a clamping screw .I8 within one side thereof.

'The outer lower end of' the elongated drive shaft I3 is provided with ahexagonal oval-shaped pointed head I9, adapted to be received within ahexagonal central opening 2s in an externally toothed drive gear 2|,driven by said drive shaft I3.

The drive gear 2i is provided with an annular shoulder 22 of reduceddiameter, rotatably seated Within a replaceable bushing 35 located atthe inner end of a gear housing body 23, the latter being provided witha centrally located stepped pin 24 on which is rotatably disposed anidler gear 25, in meshing engagement with the drive gear 2l. At theouter end oi the gear housing body 23, there is rotatably disposed anexternally toothed wrench socket having a plurality oi internal nutengaging .faces 2i. The wrench socket 26 is also provided with anannular shoul der 28, of reduced diameter, embraced by the gear housingbody 23, the outer end of said gear housing body 23 comprising merely athin arcuate band 29. The arcuate band 2Q could form part of areplaceable ring t? xed in the housing body 23 as by spot welding 38.

The outer end of the elongated barrel housing hi has a rear cover member3D fixed to it, as by a circumferential weld 3|, and disposed ininclined relationship thereto. The rear cover member it@ is detachablyixed to the gear housing body 23 as by means of a pair of machine screws32.

The front cover member 33 is similarly detachably xed to the gearhousing body 23 by a pair of machine screws 34, the purpose of saidfront cover member being to retain the idler gear 25 and the externallytoothed socket 26 in operating position within the housing body 23. Thefront cover member 33 is provided with a pair of forwardly-extending earportions 35 overlaying the rearward half of the externally-toothedsocket 26.

Operation The operation of the improved socket wrench can readily beunderstood by referring to Fig. l of the drawing. Thus it will be seenthat the toothed wrench socket 26, being unincumbered at the outer endof the gear housing body 23, may

readily be placed over a nut or boit to be turned. The fact that thehousing portion holding the socket at its outer end consists merely ofthe thin band 29 of the ring 31 allows the improved tool to be used incases where the nut to be operated upon is closely adjacent a side wall.

When the trigger T is pressed, the clutch C will continuously rotate thedrive shaft I3 until the nut is tightened to a predetermined torque,after which the clutch C will slip and prevent damage to the parts. Thetool will then be removed from the nut and applied to the next nut onthe engine cylinder. To remove the nut, the drive shaft i3 will beoperated in the reverse direction, under the control of a rotaryreversing switch knob S.

Although the particular embodiment herein described shows the wrenchsocket 26 disposed at a certain angle with respect to the elongatedbarrel housing i4, it is to be understood that this angle may be variedconsiderably, within the spirit and scope of the invention, to suit theparticular job to be done.

One advantage of the improved wrench herein disclosed is that it iscapable of operating on nuts or bolts in small restricted areas.

Another advantage is that the improved tool is very small in size andlight in weight, therefore making it ideal for assembly line production.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in whichthe invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form isshown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention isnot to be limited to the specic disclosure, but may be modied andembodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. Inshort, the invention includes all the modifications and embodimentscoming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, andfor which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In an angularly offset socket wrench, an open-ended hollow handlerotatably supporting' a drive shaft therein, power means supported onone end of the handle and drivingly connected to said drive shaft, thefree end of said drive shaft being oval in longitudinal section andpolygonal in cross section, and extended beyond the free end of saidhandle, a pancake type transmission gear and wrench housing rigidlyconnected to the free end of the handle in angular relation thereto, adrive gear mounted in one end of the housing and having a polygonalopening which receives the correspondingly shaped end of the driveshalt, and transmission gearing in the housing interposed between thedrive gear and a wrench socket.

'2. The invention as dened in claim l, in which a slip clutch isinterposed between said power means and said drive gear, said clutchbeing permitted to slip when a predetermined torque is reached.

FRANK J. DE NOTE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,469,662 Leopold Oct. 2, 1928 2,235,374 Kellogg Mar. 18, 19412,482,387 Veneman Sept. 20, 1949 2,501,386 Gibbs Mar. 2l, 1950 2,532,027Maddox Nov. 28, 1950 2,629,278 De Note Feb. 24, 1953

